REPORT 

ON  THE 

WATERS  OF  THE  HUDSON  RIVER. 

TOGETIIKK  WITH  AN 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  SAME, 

MADE  TO  THE 

WATER  COMMISSIONERS 

OF  THE 

CITY  OF  ALBANY. 

BY 

C    F.   CHA  N  D  LER,  PH.D.  - 
JANUARY,  1885. 


NEW  YORK: 
TROWS  PRINTING  AND  BOOKBINDING  CO., 
•JO  1-21 3  East  Twelfth  Street. 
I  iss:>. 


II  vth  the  compliments  of 

C.    F.    CHAN  DLER, 

SCHOOL  OF  MINES, 

Columbia  College, 

49th  Street,  cor.  4th  Ayh.,  New  York, 

who  will  be  greatly  obliged  for  copies  of  Water  Analyses 
and  Pamphlets  on  Sanitary  Subjects. 


c 

Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archivi 
in  2013 

e 

http://archive.org/details/reportonwatersofOOchan 


REPORT 

ON  THE 

WATERS  OF  THE  HUDSON  1UVEK. 

TOGETHER  WITH  AN 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  SAME, 

MADE  TO  THE 

WATER  COMMISSIONERS 

OF  THE 

CITY  OF  ALU  ANY, 

BY 

C.   F.   CHANDLER,  PH.D. 
JANUARY,  1885. 


NEW  YORK: 
TROWS  PRINTING  AND  BOOKBINDING  CO., 
801-218  East  Twklftii  BTBHBT, 
1885. 


-  ^9 

■  Aw  j 


EE  PORT. 


New  York,  January  31,  1885. 
To  the  Board  of  Water  Commissioners  of  the  City  of  Albany : 

Gentlemen  :  In  accordance  with  your  request,  I  have 
made  a  careful  study  of  the  water  of  the  Hudson  River  a! 
Albany,  with  special  reference  to  its  present  condition,  and 
to  the  question  whether  it  is  still  safe  to  rely  upon  it  as  a 
source  of  supply  for  the  city  of  Albany. 

As  you  are  aware,  I  had  the  honor  to  be  called  upon  to 
investigate  this  subject,  by  the  Board  of  Water  Commission- 
ers in  1872,  and  my  conclusions  were  embodied  in  the  follow- 
ing paragraph  at  the  end  of  the  report  which  I  made  in  that 
year : 

"The  most  careful  examination  of  the  water  has  failed  to 
reveal  anything  to  sight,  taste,  smell,  or  analysis,  which  can 
be  considered  as  throwing  the  slightest  suspicion  upon  the 
purity  of  the  water  of  the  Hudson,  or  its  fitness  for  supply- 
ing a  perfectly  wholesome  beverage  for  the  citizens  of  Albany. 
I  am  further  confirmed  in  this  opinion  by  the  careful  compar- 
ison of  the  river  and  its  surroundings  with  the  sources  of 
supply  in  other  cities  in  this  country  and  Europe.  I  have  no 
hesitation,  therefore,  in  recommending  it  as  a  suitable  and 
proper  source  of  supply." 

I  understand  you  to  ask  me  now  whether  anything  has 
occurred  during  the  past  thirteen  years  to  lead  me  to  change 
my  opinion  as  expressed  in  1872  ;  whether  new  methods  of 
chemical  analysis  may  not  have  been  introduced  which  make1 
it  possible  to  discover  contaminations  which  could  not  be 
recognized  by  the  methods  formerly  employed  ;  whether  other 
methods  of  analysis,  especially  microscopic  and  culture  ex- 
periments, may  not  reveal  the  presence  of  dangerous  organ* 
isms  which  would  escape  every  method  of  chemical  analysis  ; 
whether  the  knowledge  of  zymotic  diseases  has  not  advanced 
to  such  a  degree  as  to  compel  different  conclusions  ;  and 
finally,  whether  the  test  of  experience  in  the  city  of  Albany 


4 


lias  not  demonstrated  the  danger  of  making  use  of  this  source 
of  water  supply. 

I  have  carefully  considered  each  of  these  questions  and 
will  briefly  state  the  results. 

I.  CHEMICAL  ANALYSIS. 

In  1872, 1  made  an  analysis  of  a  sample  of  the  water  taken 
from  the  river  outside  the  pier  opposite  Quackenbusli  Street, 
on  March  14th,  by  the  methods  then  in  use  for  such  analyses. 
The  following  were  the  results  : 

The  suspended  impurities  which  rendered  the  water  tur- 
bid, being  temporary  in  character,  were  allowed  to  subside  ; 
the  clear  water  was  then  found  to  contain  the  following  sub- 
stances in  one  United  States  gallon  of  231  cubic  inches.  An 
analysis  of  the  Croton  water  was  presented  at  the  same  time 
for  comparison. 


I.  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  WATER. 


Hudson 

River. 

Croton  River. 

0.361  grains. 

0.402  grains. 

0.157 

0.076 

t'i 

0".  1 79  " 

0.260  " 

Sulphate  of  lime    

0.980 

it 

0.158  " 

4.165 

2.670  " 

1.397 

(( 

1.913  " 

0.408 

(1 

0.621  " 

0.070 

II 

a  trace. 

0.G99 

C 

0.670  " 

Total  

8.313  grains. 

6.873  grains. 

3.35° 

2.51° 

The  above  figures  represented  the  compounds  as  they 
were  believed  to  exist  in  solution  in  the  water.  It  should  be 
noticed  that  the  Hudson  River  water  compares  very  favor- 
ably with  the  Croton  in  purity,  the  total  difference  per  gal- 
lon being  only  1.54  grains. 

It  was  clearly  recognized  at  that  time  that  the  mineral 
constituents  of  a  water,  while  they  might  be  of  importance 
in  determining  the  value  of  a  water  for  manufacturing  or 
culinary  purposes,  are  not,  unless  present  in  very  unusual 
quantities,  many  times  the  amount  contained  in  the  Hudson 


River  water,  of  any  Significance  in  discussing  the  fitness  bt 
water  ['or  drinking  purposes.  It  was  well  understood  that 
the  only  constituents  that  could  possibly  produce  disease 
were  the  organic  constituents, — namely,  those  derived  from 
sewage, — and  it  was  we'll  recognized  that  the  method  of  dial  in* 
guishing  wholesome  Prom  unwholesome  organic  matter  wad 
not  very  accurate?.  I  did  not,  therefore,  at  that  time  rely 
upon  the  analysis,  but  carefully  discussed  the  waters  of  the 
Hudson  River  as  compared  to  those  of  other  huge  rivers 
which  had  been  found  to  be  entirely  satisfactory  for  domes- 
tic purposes  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  the  discussion  being 
based  upon  other  considerations  than  chemical  composition, 
namely,  the  drainage  area,  population,  flow  of  stream,  etc. 

Since  that  time  considerable  progress  has  been  made  in 
the  chemical  analysis  of  waters,  with  special  reference  to  the 
examination  for  sewage  contamination.  It  has  been  found 
that  where  water  has  been  contaminated  with  sewage  it 
will  exhibit,  when  tested  by  the  new  methods  of  analysis, 
the  unchanged  organic  substances  of  the  sewage,  which  can 
be  recognized  and  estimated  in  quantity  by  distilling  the 
water  with  permanganate  of  potash.  This  process  converts 
the  albuminoids  of  the  sewage  into  ammonia,  the  amount  of 
which  can  be  determined  with  great  accuracy.  From  this 
the  amount  of  albuminoids  in  the  water  can  be  computed. 
It  is  further  found  that  the  sewage  in  the  water  is  rapidly 
destroyed,  and  that  the  products  of  this  destruction  are  am- 
monia salts,  commonly  spoken  of  as  41  free  ammonia,"  and 
nitrates  and  nitrites.  When,  therefore,  water  has  been  re- 
cently contaminated  by  sewage,  the  amount  of  such  contam- 
ination can  now  be  determined  with  great  accuracy  by  an 
analysis  which  shows  the  amount  of  free  ammonia,  albumi- 
noid ammonia,  nitrites,  and  nitrates,  and  as  far  as  determin- 
ing the  extent  to  which  the  water  is  contaminated,  this 
method  is  quite  satisfactory. 

I  have  carefully  applied  it  to  samples  of  the  Hudson  River 
water,  having  twice  visited  Albany  for  the  purpose  of  observ- 
ing the  local  surroundings  of  the  river,  and  of  procuring  sam- 
ples. 1  have  been  assisted  in  these  analyses  by  Dr.  Elwyn 
Waller,  the  Instructor  in  Analytical  Chemistry  in  the  School 
of  Mines,  who  has  been  engaged  in  making  similar  analyses 
of  waters  in  other  localities  for  the  Stale  Hoard  of  Health.  L 


6 


also  procured  from  a  friend  in  Troy  a  sample  of  the  water  of 
the  river  taken  above  Lansingburg,  and  a  sample  of  the  water 
drawn  from  a  hydrant  in  Troy. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  samples  were  taken  from  the  river 
at  the  inlet  to  the  pumping  station,  both  at  high  and  low 
tide,  on  two  different  days,  as  well  as  from  the  Bleecker  Reser- 
voir and  Tivoli  Lake 

The  results  of  these  analyses  are  presented  in  tabular 
form.  Table  II  presents  them  expressed  in  grains  per  United 
States  gallon  of  231  cubic  inches.  Table  III  presents  them 
in  parts  per  100,000,  this  being  a  European  method  of 
presenting  such  analyses.  It  will  be  noticed  on  inspecting 
the  tables  that  two  analyses  have  been  made  in  several 
cases,  as  indicated  by  the  numbers.  Two  demijohns  of 
water  were  taken  in  each  of  those  cases.  The  analyses 
marked  5c,  6c,  9c,  and  10c,  were  made  of  the  clear  water  in 
the  demijohn  after  allowing  the  sediment  to  subside.  The 
analyses  marked  5s,  6s,  9s,  and  10s,  were  made  from  the 
water  of  the  duplicate  demijohn,  care  being  taken  to  first 
shake  the  demijohn  in  order  to  bring  all  the  sediment  into 
suspension,  so  that  the  analyses  include  the  sediment  in 
these  four  cases.  The  figures  in  the  tables  represent  all  the 
analyses  that  were  made.  The  important  columns  are  those 
which  show  the  "chloride  of  sodium,"  the  "nitrogen  in  ni- 
trates and  nitrites,"  the  "free  ammonia,"  and  the  "albu- 
minoid ammonia,"  these  being  the  figures  which  represent 
the  organic  matter  derived  from  all  sources. 

As  chloride  of  sodium,  or  common  salt,  is  a  substance 
which  is  freely  used  in  all  dwellings,  it  naturally  finds  its 
way  into  the  drainage,  and  the  amount  of  this  substance  in 
water  is  found  to  indicate,  to  some  extent,  the  variations  in 
the  quality,  though  it  is  of  little  use  in  comparing  samples  * 
of  water  from  different  localities.  • 

To  facilitate  comparisons,  Tables  IV  and  V  have  been 
prepared.  They  exhibit  the  results  of  these  analyses  shown 
as  whole  numbers  in  ten-thousandths  of  a  grain  in  one  U.  S. 
gallon  of  231  cubic  inches,  and  in  parts  in  one  thousand  mil- 
lion. 

For  further  comparison  tables  of  analyses  of  American  and 
Foreign  waters  are  presented. 


7 


INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  RESULTS. 

It  will  be  seen  from  a  careful  comparison  of  the  analyses 
of  the  Albany  and  Troy  waters  that  the  water  at  Albany  ac- 
tually contains  a  smaller  quantity  of  albuminoids  than  the 
water  above  Troy,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  there  is  undoubt- 
edly some  addition  of  matter  to  the  river  in  its  passage  past 
Troy,  while  the  products  of  the  destruction  of  organic  matter, 
that  is,  free  ammonia  and  nitrates  and  nitrites,  have  increased. 
This  is  entirely  in  keeping  with  the  theory  of  spontaneous  pu- 
rification. Running  streams  may  receive  moderate  quantities 
of  organic  matter  and  lose  the  same  by  chemical  changes  which 
take  place  in  the  water.  In  my  report  in  1872  I  devoted  con- 
siderable space  to  the  subject  of  spontaneous  purification, 
and  quoted  largely  from  the  best  European  authorities  to 
support  the  opinion  which  I  gave,  that  such  spontaneous 
purification  takes  place.  This  position  was  not  satisfactory 
to  those  citizens  of  Albany,  who  had  made  up  their  minds  be- 
forehand that  the  Hudson  River  water  must  be  largely  im- 
pure, and  the  possibility  of  such  purification  was  seriously 
questioned  in  the  discussions  which  ensued. 

This  process  has  been  thoroughly  investigated  in  the  past 
few  years,  and  it  is  now  admitted  by  all  writers  upon  the 
subject.  It  is  hardly  necessary,  therefore,  to  present  any  fur- 
ther evidence  upon  this  point.  The  writings  of  Frankland, 
Tidy,  Warington,  Poleck,  and  many  others,  are  very  explicit 
npon  the  subject.  Lest  there  may  possibly  exist  unbelievers 
in  this  process  I  venture  to  insert  the  following  quotations  : 

"  It  must,  nevertheless,  be  borne  in  mind  that  by  the  con- 
stant exposure  of  fresh  surfaces  of  polluted  water  to  the  ac- 
tion of  the  atmosphere,  which  is  accomplished  in  a  running 
stream,  the  organic  matter  is  oxidized,  and  may  thus  be 
eventually  converted  into  products  which  are  perfectly  harm- 
less ;  in  other  words,  a  river  is  competent  to  effect  its  own 
purification  unless  overtaxed  with  pollution"  (Huxlev, 
1878). 

"  The  decay  of  organic  matter  is  the  joint  work  of  a  num- 
ber of  independent  organisms  of  different  functions,  the  ac- 
tion of  one  class  following  that  of  another,  and  carrying  the 
process  through  a  further  stage.    We  are  too  Imperfectly  ac- 


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TV.  Results  of  the  Analyses 
Expressed  in  Ten- thousandths  of  a  Grain  per  U.  8.  Gallon  of  231  Cubic  Inches. 


Locality. 


Mohawk  Paver,  above  Diamond  "Woolleu  Mills 


Hudson  River,  above  Lansingburg 

Troy  Hydrant  , 

Hudson  River,  at  Maple  Island 


Hudson  River,  at  Albanv- 
At  inlet,  high  tide . . . 
At  inlet, 

At  inlet,  low  tide . .  . 

At  inlet,  "   

At  inlet,  high  tide... 

At  inlet,  low  tide  

Bleecker  Reservoir  


Average  for  river  water  used  at  Albany 


Tivoli  Lake 


Average  for  Tivoli  Lake 


1  1 

Sodium  te^eni3 
„w\  ItXaZ     nitrates  and 
chloride.  nitritep> 

Free     1  Albumi- 
ammonia. 

j  monia. 

2,160 

411 

26 

43 

• 

2.1C0 
2,160 
1,540 

144 
166 
358 

0 
9 

8 

87 
89 
48 

3,090 
3,090 
3,400 
3,400 
2,160 
1,700 
3,150 
3,150 

161 
154 

275 
168 
377 
353 
282 
285 

37 
22 
16 
29 
31 
37 
30 
27 

59 
83 
7S 
72 
66 
52 
40 
59 

2,892 

257 

28 

63 

7,730 
!  7,730 
8,960 

296 
356 
778 

107 
115 

220 

47 
163 
69 

8,140 

477 

147 

93 

Y.  Results  of  the  Analyses 


Expressed  in  Parts  in  One  Thousand  Million. 


Number. 

Locality. 

Sodium 
chloride. 

Nitrogen  in 
nitratesand 
nitrites. 

Free 
ammonia. 

Albumi- 
noid am- 
monia. 

1 

Mohawk  River,  above  Diamond  Woollen  Mills  

3,710 

705 

44 

74 

7 

3,710 
3,710 

247 

0 

150 

284 

15 

151 

5 

2,650 

614 

14 

82 

5c 
5s 
6c 
6s 

Hudson  River,  at  Albany — 

5,300 
5,300 
5,830 
5,830 
3,710 
2,910 

277 

64 

38 

102 

265 

142 

471 

288 

28 

134 

50 

124 

7 

647 

54 

114 

8 

606 

64 

90 

9c 
9* 

5,410 
5,410 

484 

52 

68 

489 

46 

102 

4,962 

441 

49 

109 

10c 
10* 
11 

13,250 
13,2f,0 
15,370 

507 

184 

80 

611 

198 

280 

ii 

1,334 

380 

118 

13,957 

817 

254 

159 

11 


VI.  American  Watkbs. 
The  Results  are  Expressed  in  Ten-Thouscnutths  <>f  <<  Gram  per  U.  8.  Gallon 

of  -J-'il  '(  \ihir  Jnclo-s. 


Locality. 


New  York  City— 
Croton  River  

Boston,  Mass. — 

Cochituate  Lake. 


Farm  Pond  

Sudbury  River. 

Springfield,  Mass.— 
Broad  Brook. . . 


Lowell.  Mass. — 

Meirimac  Iliver  *  . 

"    t  . 

"  x . 

Worcester,  Mass.— 
Blackstone  River  § 

M  | 

M  ^ 

Taunton,  Mass. — 

Taunton  River  

New  London,  Conn. — 

Lake  Konomac  

Plymouth.  Mass. — 

S.mth  Pond  

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. — 

Grand  River  

Toronto,  Canada — 

Lake  Ontario  

Philadelphia,  Pa.— 

Schuylkill  River. . . 


Delaware  River  

Portsmouth,  Va. — 

Dismal  Swamp  

Cincinnati,  O. — 

Ohio  River  

Nashville,  Tenn. — 

Cumberland  River  . . 
St.  Louis,  Mo. — 

Missouri  River  

Mississippi  River  . . . 
Jersey  City,  N.  J. — 

Passaic  River  

Watertown,  N.  Y. — 

Black  River  

Yonkere,  N.  Y.— 

Grassy  Spring  River 
Hudson,  N.  Y. — 

Hudson  River  


Poughkccpsie,  N.  Y. 
Hudson  River  . . 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.— 

Ridgewood  

Syracuse,  N.  Y. — 
Oneida  Lake  . . . 
Tally  Lake  


..m  ix. 

.  .min. 

.  max. 
.  min. 
.max. 
.  .min. 


Dat 

e. 

Chloride 
of 

sodium. 

Nitro- 
gen in 
nitrates 

and 
nitrites. 

1 

Free 
ammonia. 

Albuminoid 
ammonia. 

Analyst. 

Dec, 

1SS-1 

3,090 

379 

5 
39 

52 
113 

E.  Waller. 

W.  R.  Nichols. 

Nov., 

1SS1 

2,020 

9 
19 

0 
25 

3 

57 
(17 
202 
158 
176 

„ 

Ira  Remsen. 
E.  S.  Wood. 

Jan., 
Apr., 

1876 
1S73 

2,429 
1,M8 
4,275 

58 
38 
11 

70 

C.  O.  Thompson 
W.  R.  Nichols 
C.  0.  Thompson 

Sep., 

1S73 
it 

1,359 
1,912 
1,749 

.... 

:::: 

29 
25 
18 

06 
04 
74 

W.  R.  Nichols. 

:  -! 

1873 
" 

15.550 

o.utr 

5,053 

.... 

2.157 
145 
29 

239 
128 
87 

Aug., 

1877 

29 

123 

Dec, 

1S79 

93 

it  ii 

June, 

1877 

46 

99 

Nov., 

1879 

103 

Hugo  Thum. 

Nov., 

1S81 

3,207 

134 

•; 

63 

W.  H.  Ellis. 

Jan., 
June, 
Nov., 

1SS0 
1880 
1881 

3.304 

sv«ifl 

9,135 
18,175 

886 
356 

17 

5 

o 

10 

145 
104 
15 
110 

G.  F.  Barker. 
A.  R.  Le.  ds. 

H.  LeiTmann. 

Nov., 

18S4 

896 

469 

13 

437 

E.  Waller. 

Nov., 

1SS0 

12.79S 

29 

C.  R.  Stuntz. 

Oct., 

1S70 

2,8S7 

005 

0 

23 

U.  T.  Lupton 

Jan., 

1>7» 

7 
15 

122 
519 

G.  W.  Riggs. 

Jan., 

18M) 

2. 165 

997 

29 

219 

A.  R.  Leeds. 

June, 

1S81 

509 

84 

24 

38 

E.  Waller. 

Feb., 

1875 

3.175 

32 

54 

W.  R.  NichoK 

Nov., 
Dec, 
Jan., 

1877 

\s--t 

1878 

^880 
3.175 

34 
29 
71 

88 
88 
77 

Nov.  13/77 
Nov.  lit.  "77 

8.081 
8,081 

63 
80 

115 
91 

May. 

1S«5| 

11.013 

9 

17 

E.  EL  Bartley. 

t 

1- 

1884 

5.759 
5,279 

.  13 
18 

59 
120 

F.  Engelhardt. 

*  Above  Lowell. 

t  Below  Lowell,  above  Lvwrence. 
X  Below  Lawrence. 


§  Below  Worcester. 

|  Five  miles  below  Worcester. 

^  Twenty  miles  below  Worcester. 


12 


Y1I.  American  Waters. 
The  Results  are  Expressed  in  Parts  in  One  Thousand  Million. 


Locality. 


3 
4 
5 
0 
7 
8 

9 
10 
11 

12 
13 
14 

15 
If, 
17 

IS 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 
24 
25 
20 

37 


29 

30 
31 

32 

33 

34 

35 
36 
37 

38 
89 

40 

41 
42 


jNew  York  City— 

Croton  River  

.Boston,  Mass. — 

Cochituate  Lake  max. 

"   min. 


Date. 


Chloride 

of 
sodium. 


Nitro- 
gen in 

nitrates 
and 

'nitrites. 


£  2  ! 


,5  s 

P  o 
§  3 


Dec,    1SS4!  5,300 


Nov.,  1881 


Farm  Pond  max. 

"       "   min. 

Sudbury  River  max. 

"  "   min. 

Springfield,  Mass. — 

Broad  Brook  


Jan., 

April, 
Lowell,  Mass. — 

Merrimac  River*  Sep., 

"    t  I  " 

"  t 
Worcester,  Mass. — 

Blackstone  River  §  . . . 

"     II  ... 

':  T... 

Taunton,  Mass. — 

Taunton  River  Aug., 

New  London,  Conn. — 

LakeKonomac  Dec, 

Plymouth,  Mass. — 

South  Pond  June, 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. — 

Grand  River  Nov., 

Toronto,  Canada- 
Lake  Ontario  Nov., 

Philadelphia,  Pa. — 

Schuylkill  River  


9,900 
3,465 

1876 
1S73 

4.165 
3,333 
7,330 

1873 

2,330 
3,330 
3,000 

1873 

26.665 
11,330 
8.065 

1S77 

1879 

1877 

1879 

18S1 

;  5,500 

Delaware  River  

Portsmouth,  Va. — 

Dismal  Swamp  

Cincinnati,  O. — ■ 

Ohio  River  

Nashville,  Tenn. — 

Cumberland  River. 
St.  Louis,  Mo. — 

Missouri  River  

Mississippi  River. . , 
Jersey  City,  N.  J. — 


Jan., 
June, 
Nov., 


Nov., 
Nov., 
Oct., 
Jan., 


18S0 
1880 
lb81 


1884 


1876 
1878 


5.605 
5,000 
15,065 
31,165 

1,537 

21.945 

4,950 


Watertown,  N.  Y.- 
Black  River  . . 

Yonkers,  N.  Y.— 
Grassy  Spring 

Hudson,  N.  Y.— 
Hudson  River 


Poughkeepsi'3,  N.  Y.- 


Brooklyn, N.  Y. 


Syracuse,  N.  Y. — 
Oneida  Lake. . 
Tully  Lake  ... 


651 


230 


1.520 
610 


805 


1,140 


June,  1880 

3,712 

1,710 

June,  1SS1 

874 

145 

Feb.,  1875 

5,445 

Nov.,  1877 
Dec,  18^7 
Jan.,  1878 

4,950 
5,445 

Nov.  13.  -77 
Nov.  19,  '77 

5.283 
5,283 

May,  1SS4 

19,965 

— ,  1884 

5 

9,S76 
9,053 

:::: 

07 
5 

16 

34 
0 

43 
5 

100 
66 
20 

47 
44 
31 

3,700 
250 
50 

51 

50 


12 

19 

30 
10 
0 

so 

23 
50 
0 

13 

26 

50 
24 

55 

59 
51 
123 

109 
104 

16 

22 
32 


Analyst. 


90 

195 
99 
116 

450 
272 
302 
S4 

130 
128 
120 

114 
110 
127 

410 
220 
150 

211 

160 

170 

178 

109 

250 
180 
20 
200 

751 

156 

40 

210 
890 

377 

66 

93 

152 
152 
133 

197 
157 


102 
216 


E.  Waller. 

W.  R.  Nichols. 

Ira  Remsen. 

E.  S.  Wood. 


C.  O.  Thompson. 
W.  R.  Nichols. 
C.  O.  Thompson. 

W.  R.  Nichols. 


Hugo  Thnm. 
W.  H.  Ellis. 

G.  F.  Barker. 
A.  R.  Leeds. 

H.  Left'mann. 

|E.  Waller. 

Ic  R.  Stuntz. 

i 

N.  T.  Lupton. 
G.  W.  Riggs. 

A.  R.  Leeds. 
E.  Waller. 
W.  R.  Nichols. 


E.  H.  Bartley. 

F.  Engelhardt. 


*  Above  Lowell. 

t  Below  Lowell,  above  Lawrence. 
$  Below  Lawrence. 


§  Below  Worcester. 

||  Five  miles  below  Worcester. 

If  Twenty  miles  below  Worcester. 


VIII.  Waters  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

The  llesults  are  Expressed  in  Ten4hou8andths  of  a  Grain  per  U.  S.  Gallon  of  281 

Cubic  Inches. 


Number. 

Locality. 

Date. 



Chloride 

of 
sodium. 

Nitro- 
gen in 
nil  rates 

and 
nitriies. 

. 

pi 

9  '3 

SB 

Albuminoid 
ammonia. 

Analyst. 

London,  River  Thames — 

1 

Chelsea  Company 

March,  1888 

18,471 

1,248 

35 

35 

Chloride  of  sodium 

2 

West  Middlesex  Company. 

13,471 

1,689 

23 

41 

and  nitrogen  in 

3 

Southwark   and  Vauxhall 

nitrates,  etc.,  t,y 

Oompftny 

14,484 

1,010 

35 

47 

E.  Frankland. 

4 

Grand  Junction  Company. 

14.434 

1,809 

23 

23 

•Free  and  albumi- 

5 

I.ambeth  Company 

it 

15,3% 

2,998 

23 

35 

noid  ammonia. 

London,  River  Len  

bv  J.  A.  Wank- 

6 

New  River  Company 

15,300 

2.1S7 

12 

23 

lyn  and  W.  J. 

7 

Mast  TiOndon  Company. 

1C..:;.")S 

1,866 

12 

29 

Cooper. 

a 

Nov., 

18S1 

1 1,6  17 

1,826 

15 

20 

F.  P.  Perkins. 

9 

Readin,r   River  Ivcuurt 

11,043 

624 

4 

35 

J.  Shea. 

,0 

Worcester,  Rivers  Severn  and 

.May, 

'2,027 

624 

0 

41 

H.  Swete. 

11 

Kind's  Lynn,  River  (iaywood.. 

Nov., 

81,843 

2,082 

18 

70 

W.  Johnstone. 

12 

11,043 

3,330 

8 

38 

R.  Oxland. 

13 

Coatham.  River  Tees  

Dec, 

1S77 

7.704 

373 

68 

58 

C  W.  Wigner. 

14 

Isle  of  Wight.  River  Yar  

Sep., 

72,205 

583 

41 

59 

15 

Carnarvon,  Qucllyn  Lake  

it 

14.071 

233 

2D 

39 

16 

Mnyport,  river  water  

Aug.. 

10,(i72 

406 

27 

59 

17 

Whitehaven,  Ennerdale  Lake.. 

7,814 

236 

30 

20 

18 

Portmadoc,  lake  water  

Sep., 

18.1.9 

216 

98 

57 

1!) 

Oct., 

18,646 

117 

34 

50 

20 

Llanfairfeohan,  river  water  . .. 

Nov.. 

10,730 

288 

12 

28 

21 

April. 

1S7<; 

not  det. 

150 

6 

50 

Wm.  Muir. 

22 

it              It           It  4c 

March, 

1SS2 

0,062 

47 

0 

47 

E.  J.  Mills. 

K 

Dec. , 

li>81 

13,568 

trace 

17 

50 

C.  A  Cameron. 

*  Average  for  twelve  months. 


IX.  Waters  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

The  Results  are  Repressed  in  Parts  in  One  Thousand  Million. 


Locality. 


London,  River  Thames— 

1  Chelsea  Company  

2  I       West  Middlesex  Company  . 

3  Southwark  and  Vauxhall 

Company  

1         Grand  Junction  Company  . 

5  Lambeth  Company  

London,  River  Lea — 

6  New  River  Company  

7  East  London  <  'ompany   . . . 

,s  Bxeter,  River  Bxe  

9    Beading,  River  Kennt  t  

10  Worcester.  Rivers  Severn  and 
!  Vyrnwy  

11  King's  Lynn,  River  Gay  wood. . 

12  Plymouth,  peat  bogs  

13  Coatham,  River  Tees  

14  Isle  of  Wight.  Hiver  Yar  

15  Carnarvon.  Quellyn  Lake  

16  Mayport.  river  water  

17  Whitehaven.  Ennerdale  Lake. . 

IS  Portmadoc.  lake  water  

10  Lynt  >n,  river  water  

20  Llanfairfeehan.  river  water  

21  Glasgow,  Loch  Katri::e  

22  "         "       •«  *  


Dublin,  Loch  Vartry . 


Date. 

Chloride 

of 
sodium. 

Nitro- 
gen in 
nitrates 

and 
nitrites. 

Free  j 
ammonia. 

o  i 

2  § 

-  z. 

5  £ 

-  S 
<  a 

Analyst. 

March 

,1883 

23.100 

2,140 

00 

60 

Chloride  of  sodium 

28,100 

2.640 

40 

70 

and  nitrogen  in 

24750 

nitrates,  etc.,  by 

3,290 

00 

80 

E.  Frankland. 

21.  Toil 

3.090 

40 

40 

■Free  and  albumi- 

20,400 

3,940 

40 

CO 

noid  ammonia, 

26, 100 

by  J.  A.  Wank- 

tt 

3,750 

20 

40 

lyn    and   \\ .  .1. 

u 

28,960 

3,200 

20 

60 

Cooper. 

Nov., 

1881 

l'.t.M'O 

3,130 

26 

44 

F.  P.  Perkins. 

10. 963 

1,070 

7 

00 

J.  Shea. 

78.096 

1.070 

0 

70 

H.  Swete. 

Nov., 

87,456 

4.600 

31 

120 

W.  Johnstone. 

17.300 

657 

12 

197 

R.  Oxland. 

Dec, 

1877 

i:i.-'0:> 

bin 

117 

100 

G.  W.  Wigner. 

Sep., 

121.915 

1,0(1(1 

71 

101 

tt 

84,81  0 

100 

34 

67 

Am,'., 

18,800 

800 

46 

101 

13.400 

404 

61 

35 

22,600 

371 

169 

97 

Oct., 

t. 

28,4  n 

200 

6» 

or, 

Nov., 

1S.IIKI 

400 

80 

48 

April, 

1878 

not  det. 

23S 

10 

S5 

Wm.  Muir. 

March,  18B9 

111,395 

SO 

ii 

80 

K.  .1.  Mills. 

Dee., 

l.\N| 

28,266 

trace  * 

29 

86 

C.  A.  Cameron. 

*  Avcrago  for  twelve  months. 


14 


quainted  with  the  organisms  effecting  these  changes,  and 
their  particular  functions  have  been  too  little  studied,  for 
any  accurate  sketch  of  these  processes  to  be  given.  In  the 
first  rank  we  must  probably  place  the  fungi,  whose  main 
function  is  apparently  the  rapid  oxidation  of  carbon.  Fol- 
lowing these  we  have  the  innumerable  army  of  bacteria,  em- 
bracing many  families  of  very  similar  pl^sical  structure,  but 
endowed  with  very  different  chemical  powers.  One  class  of 
these  bacteria  attacks  nitrogenous  organic  matter  and  liber- 
ates the  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  ammonia  ;  while  another 
class  of  bacteria  determines  the  conversion  of  carbonaceous 
organic  matter  and  ammonia  into  simple  organic  bodies — 
carbonic  and  nitric  acids.  Lastly,  we  have  the  chlorophyll- 
bearing  plants,  which  consume  the  carbonic  acid,  ammonia, 
and  nitric  acid  produced  by  lower  organisms,  and  are  also 
capable  of  assimilating  urea  and  other  amide  bodies,  and  a 
large  number  of  inorganic  ash  constituents"  (Warington, 
1880). 

"  En  resume,  the  little  beings  which  we  have  been  consid- 
ering have  an  important  role  :  they  cause  the  return  of  dead 
organic  matter  to  the  atmosphere  and  to  water. 

"  Without  them,  organic  matter,  even  exposed  to  the  air, 
would  not  be  destroyed,  or  would  be  transformed  with  ex- 
treme slowness,  in  consequence  of  a  slow  combustion  pro- 
duced by  oxygen.  With  them,  on  the  contrary,  its  destruc- 
tion takes  a  rapid  march  and  becomes  complete.  If,  then, 
the  equilibrium  is  maintained  between  living  nature  and 
dead  nature,  if  the  air  has  always  the  same  composition,  if 
the  waters  are  always  equally  fertilizing,  it  is  thanks  to  the 
infinitely  minute  agents  of  fermentation  and  putrefaction" 
(Magnin  from  Duclaux,  1878). 

Hulwa,  in  his  investigation  of  the  River  Oder,  before  it 
enters  and  after  it  has  passed  through  the  City  of  Breslau, 
found  that  in  its  progress  through  the  city  the  river  showed 
increased  pollution,  and  at  its  exit  was  greatly  polluted.  A 
short  distance  down  the  river  the  effects  of  dilution  became 
evident,  the  self-purification  of  the  river  b}^  the  combined 
action  of  the  oxygen  of  the  air  and  of  the  vegetable  and  ani- 
mal life  in  the  stream  were  very  marked,  and  the  impurities 
diminished  so  rapidly  that  at  a  few  miles  below  the  city  the 
water  was  as  pure  as  when  it  entered  it.  Hulwa  thinks  it  a 
mistake  to  forbid  the  outflow  of  sewage  into  rivers,  provided 
the  outfall  is  below  the  city  and  the  rapidity  and  volume  of 
the  stream  are  sufficient  to  carry  the  sewage  to  such  a  dis- 


L5 


tance  as  will  allow  the  operation  of  natural  causes  of  purifi- 
cation (1884). 

The  nc lion  of  air  in  effecting,  directly  or  indirectly, the  pu* 
rification  of  water  has  been  practically  tested  within  the  last 
year  or  two,  in  Boboken  and  Philadelphia,  where  air  has  been 
systemat  ically  pumped  into  the  water  for  the  purpose  of  has- 
tening the  operation. 

A  further  comparison  of  the  Hudson  River  water  al 
Albany  with  the  chief  waters  used  in  America  and  England 
for  city  supplies,  demonstrates  the  fact  that  the  Hudson  River 
water  does  not  contain  any  excessive  quantity  of  organic 
matters,  and  the  application  of  these  new  methods  of  analysis 
confirms  the  opinion  which  I  originally  reached  with  regard 
to  this  water. 

In  a  recent  report  of  the  Committee  on  Drainage,  Sewage, 
and  Topography  of  the  State  Board  of  Health,  the  statement 
is  made  that  "  the  experience  of  the  past  ten  years  hascleaiiy 
demonstrated  that  the  chemical  test  cannot  detect  the  specific 
poisons  of  zymotic  diseases,  and  therefore  the  results  of 
chemical  analysis  of  the  water  of  the  Hudson  River  are  no 
proof  as  to  its  safety  for  drinking  purposes."  This  is  no 
doubt  the  opinion  of  the  Committee,  but  it  is  not  the  opinion 
of  those  persons  who  have  had  considerable  experience  in  the 
examination  of  waters  for  sanitary  purposes.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  chemical  tests  will  detect  the  specific  poisons  of 
zymotic  diseases  in  water.  For  that  matter  there  is  no 
method  of  investigation  yet  proposed  which  can  accomplish 
this,  except  the  actual  production  of  the  diseases,  and  no  one 
has  ever  found  in  a  river-water  the  specific  poison  of  any 
zymotic  disease.  Dr.  Koch  thinks  he  observed  the  cholera 
bacillus  in  a  water-tank  at  Calcutta  in  which  persons  suffer- 
ing from  cholera  bathed  and  washed  their  clothes,  and  this  is 
the  only  case  in  which  any  reliable  authority  has  ever  claimed 
to  have  found  disease-germs  in  water  of  any  kind. 

In  1880,  Dr.  Tidy,  of  London,  one  of  the  best  authorities 
on  the  subject  of  water  examination,  made  the  statement  that 
"  in  all  well-proved  cases  of  outbreaks  of  disease  resulting 
from  the  use  of  drinking-water,  such  water  would  have  been 
unhesitatingly  condemned  on  analysis  by  the  chemist." 

The  Committee  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  attempts  to 
sustain  its  condemnation  of  chemical  analysis  by  reference 


16 


to  the  epidemic  of  typhoid  and  typho-malarial  fever  in  Bath, 
Steuben  County,  during  the  past  year.  In  this  case  there  is  no 
evidence  that  the  disease  originated  with  the  well-water.  The 
printed  analysis  shows  further  that  the  water  was  very  impure. 
It  contains  37.6  parts  in  100,000  of  total  impurities,  while  the 
quantity  contained  in  the  Hudson  River  water  at  Albany  aver- 
ages only  about  10  parts  in  100,000.  This  well-water  further 
shows  the  presence  of  9,900  parts  of  nitrogen  derived  from 
nitrates  and  nitrites  in  one  thousand  million  parts  of  water, 
which  is  an  enormous  quantity.  It  should  further  be  remem- 
bered that  well-waters  cannot  be  considered  upon  the  same 
basis  as  river  waters.  The  well  contains  a  small  quantity  of 
water,  which  is  not  in  motion,  and  which  is  not  brought  freely 
into  contact  with  the  air.  Moreover,  well-waters  are  very  vari- 
able in  composition.  The}^  are  liable  to  temporary  defilement, 
so  that  while  at  one  time  a  well-water  may  fail  to  disclose  any 
alarming  peculiarities  to  chemical  analysis,  it  may  at  a  later 
period,  owing  to  a  change  in  the  condition  of  the  ground- 
water in  its  neighborhood,  or  to  some  accidental  pollution, 
become  charged  with  offensive  matter.  All  chemists  realize 
the  fact  that  it  is  never  safe  to  decide  the  condition  of  a  well 
from  a  single  analysis  of  the  water,  as  no  matter  how  pure 
the  water  may  prove  to  be  by  analysis  on  any  particular  oc- 
casion, there  is  no  certainty  that  this  condition  of  purity  will 
be  maintained  for  any  length  of  time.  The  river,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  not  subject  to  sudden  variations  in  the  quality 
of  its  waters.  The  conditions  that  surround  it  are  pretty 
nearly  uniform  from  one  end  of  the  year  to  the  other,  the 
greatest  extremes  being  those  which  result  from  high  water 
and  low  water.  The  opinion  of  the  Committee  as  to  the  value 
of  chemical  analysis,  as  far  as  it  is  based  on  the  Bath  out- 
break, is  without  adequate  foundation. 

The  slight  turbidity  or  opalescence  which  is  noticed  at 
times  in  the  water  drawn  from  the  hydrants  at  Albany,  is 
due  to  the  clay  which  is  so  abundant  in  the  Hudson  and 
Mohawk  vallej^s,  either  as  soft  clay  or  as  crumbling  shales. 
It  has  been  shown  by  Professor  W.  H.  Brewer,  that  clay 
settles  very  slowly  from  pure  waters. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  analyses  of  the  water  from 
Tivoli  Lake,  show  a  much  larger  amount  of  sodium  chloride, 
nitrates,  and  of  free  and  albuminoid  ammonia.   I  did  not  visit 


17 


the  lake,  but  I  am  satisfied  from  the  analyses  that  drainage- 
water  finds  its  way  into  this  body  of  water. 


EL — BIOLOGICAL  AXALYSIS. 

Great  stress  is  now  laid  by  many  persons  on  what  is  called 
the  biological  analysis  of  water,  and  much  has  been  pub- 
lished upon  the  subject  within  the  last  few  years.  It  has 
been  known  for  more  than  two  hundred  years,  that  minute 
organisms  exist  in  wa  ter.  They  were  discovered  by  Leeuwen- 
hoek.  in  rain-water,  in  1675,  and  have  been  studied  with  great 
interest  ever  since.  Some  are  known  to  be  animal  in  charac- 
ter, others  vegetable.  They  have  been  carefully  studied  and 
classified,  but  while  they  were  extremely  interesting  to  the 
botanist  and  the  zoologist,  they  attracted  very  little  attention 
from  the  chemist  and  the  etiologist  till  quite  recently.  They 
first  came  into  general  notice  in  the  study  of  fermenta- 
tion, which  had  been  supposed  by  many  to  be  a  purely  chemi- 
cal process,  but  which  was  finally  traced  to  the  agency  of 
these  minute  organisms.  It  was  found  that  there  are  a  great 
many  different  kinds  of  fermentations,  each  of  which  is  due 
to  some  one  specific  organism.  The  further  stud}'  of  these 
organisms  led  to  the  revival  of  the  theory  of  spontaneous 
generation,  and  many  elaborate  investigations  were  made 
into  their  origin.  Finally,  it  was  found  that  most  kinds  of 
contagious  and  infectious  disease,  and  many  diseases  that 
had  never  before  been  recognized  as  infectious,  were  due  to 
peculiar  micro-organisms. 

These  discoveries  gave  rise  to  what  is  known  as  the  "germ 
theory"  of  disease.  I  have  had  special  occasion  to  study 
this  subject  for  various  reasons  in  connection  with  my  duties, 
and  ten  years  ago  I  carefully  examined  the  publications  of 
the  most  active  investigators  of  the  subject  in  preparing  an 
article  on  ''Fermentation"  for  "  Johnson's  New  Universal 
Cyclopedia."  When  it  was  proposed,  therefore,  to  determine 
the  sanitary  quality  of  water  by  microscopic  examination, 
either  of  the  water  itself,  or  of  the  culture-fluids  or  solid  me- 
dia planted  wirli  water,  I  was  not  taken  by  surprise,  bnl  was 
in  a  position  to  realize  how  much  and  how  little  might  be  ex- 
pected from  this  method  of  examination. 


IS 


Biological  analysis  lias  thus  far  been  resorted  to  for  the 
purpose  of  determining  the  number  of  germs  or  spores  of 
micro-organisms  contained  in  a  given  sample  of  water,  and 
by  counting  them  to  decide  on  the  relative  value  or  safety  of 
the  water  for  domestic  use.  If  these  organisms,  whether 
bacteria,  algae,  or  mould  fungi,  were  only  contained  in  pol- 
luted water,  or  if  they  were  injurious  to  life,  this  method  of 
examination  would  undoubtedly  be  extremely  valuable,  but 
as  a  matter  of  fact  these  organisms  are  found  everywhere  in 
nature.  They  have  been  shown  by  Deherain,  Maquenne, 
Koch,  Miguel,  Warington,  and  many  others,  to  exist  in  all 
soils.  They  have  been  shown  by  everyone  who  has  studied 
the  subject  to  be  constantly  present  in  the  atmosphere.  The 
following  quotation  from  the  work  of  Cooke  and  Berkley  on 
the  fungi,  expresses  the  universal  opinion  with  regard  to  the 
occurrence  of  bacteria  and  other  fungi  in  the  air  : 

"  Spores  and  other  vegetable  cells  are  constantly  present  in 
atmospheric  dust,  and  usually  occur  in  considerable  numbers  ; 
the  majority  of  them  are  living  and  capable  of  growth  and 
development.  The  amount  of  them  present  in  the  air  appears 
to  be  independent  of  conditions  of  velocity  and  direction  of 
wind,  and  their  number  is  not  diminished  by  moisture. 

' '  No  connection  can  be  traced  between  the  numbers  of  bac- 
teria, spores,  etc.,  present  in  the  air,  and  the  occurrence  of 
diarrhoea,  dysentery,  cholera,  ague,  or  dengue,  nor  between 
the  presence  or  abundance  of  any  special  form  or  forms  of 
cells  and  the  prevalence  of  any  of  these  diseases." 

Bacteria  are  always  present  in  water.  Magnin  and  Stern- 
berg say  rain-water  will  always  be  found  fertile  in  germs,  and 
when  it  is  collected  with  care  it  represents  the  bacterial  flora 
of  the  atmosphere  at  the  time  of  its  fall.  The  following 
quotation  is  additional  proof  on  this  point : 

"Water  contains  considerable  quantities  of  bacteria  and 
especially  of  germs.  Their  presence  in  atmospheric  water  is 
established  by  the  experiments  of  Lemaire  and  Gratiolet, 
— and  after  them  by  more  recent  observers — by  means  of 
condensers  filled  with  ice,  and  placed  in  the  fields,  and  for 
comparison,  in  closed  apartments.  Rindfleisch  has  since  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  the  vapor  of  water  does  not  contain 
spores  or  bacteria,  and  that  telluric  waters  alone  contain 
them  ;  but  Billroth,  Cohn,  and  others  have  proved  that  Rind- 
fleisch was  too  positive  in  his  statement. 

"It  is  not  surprising  that  telluric  waters  contain  such  a 


L9 


quantity  of  bacteria,  that  their  existence  is  admitted  by  all. 
The  dust  gathered  upon  the  surface  of  stones,  of  leaves,  of 
fruits,  etc.,  shows  upon  microscopic  examination  an  abun- 
dance of  germs  (Marie-Davy,  Tissandier) ;  the  washing  of  these 
objects  and  of  the  soil  by  the  ra in,  transports  them  into  the 
rivers,  and  from  the  rivers  to  the  sea,  w  hich  contains  con- 
siderable quantities  of  them. 

"Thus,  a  drop  of  water  from  the  Seine,  according  to  Pas- 
teur and  Joubert,  is  always  fecund,  and  may  give  birth  to 
several  species  of  bacteria.  The  distilled  water  of  labora- 
tories also  contains  germs,  and  these  of  so  small  a  diameter 
that  they  pass  through  all  filters.  Colin  lias  proved  that 
some  are  not  arrested  by  a  superposition  of  sixteen  filters. 
The  only  waters  which  do  not  contain  them  are  those  drawn 
from  the  very  source  of  a  spring."  (Magnin.) 

It  should  further  be  noted  that  all  kinds  of  food  contain 
bacteria  and  other  micro-organisms.  Nothing  is  richer  in 
bacilli  than  ordinary  hay,  from  which  they  are  never  absent. 
Finally,  I  would  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  human  beings 
are  never  free  from  them.  They  occur  in  the  body  in  life  ; 
they  are  constantly  found  in  saliva,  and  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  alimentary  canal  exhibits  myriads  of  them  in  a 
state  of  activity.  They  are  found  upon  the  surface  of  the 
skin,  in  the  bronchial  passages,  and  in  fact  wherever  air, 
water,  or  food  are  brought  in  contact  with  the  body  externally 
or  internally.  Pasteur  recently  read  a  paper,  by  Duclaux, 
before  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  in  which  he  claimed 
that  the  presence  of  bacteria  is  indispensable  to  the  germina- 
tion of  seeds  and  also  to  the  digestion  of  food. 

Colin  says : 

"  Bacteria  belong  to  the  most  wide-spread  of  organisms  ; 
we  may  say  they  are  omnipresent;  they  never  fail  either  in 
air  or  water  ;  they  attach  themselves  to  the  surface  of  all 
firm  bodies." 

And  according  to  Magnin  : 

uThe  bacteria  are  of  all  beings  the  most  widely  diffused. 
We  meet  them  everywhere,  in  the  air,  in  water,  upon  the 
surface  of  solid  bodies,  in  the  interior  of  plants  and  animals. 
If  we  expose  a  transparent  Liquid  containing  traces  of  organic 
substances,  we  find  after  a  short  time  that  it  has  become 
clouded,  and  the  microscope  shows  us  that  it  contains  myr- 
iads of  these  beings." 


20 


Under  these  circumstances  it  would  appear  that  counting 
the  number  of  bacteria  that  will  develop  in  gelatine,  or  in 
other  culture  media,  on  the  addition  of  a  sample  of  water, 
is  not  a  very  reliable  method  for  determining  the  danger  of 
water  for  domestic  purposes,  although  some  enthusiastic  mi- 
croscopists,  carried  away  by  their  skill  in  raising  bacteria  in 
their  microscopic  gardens,  have  said  that  the  days  of  chem- 
ical analysis  of  water  supplies  are  numbered. 

W.  R.Nichols  remarks  in  speaking  of  biological  analysis  : 

"  None  of  these  methods  have  reached  the  subject  of  prac- 
tical utility,  and  it  must  be  left  entirely  with  the  specialists 
to  interpret  the  results  of  their  own  observations." 

Dr.  Robert  Angus  Smith,  who  made  a  great  many  biologi- 
cal examinations  of  water  with  gelatine,  in  which  he  noted 
particularly  the  production  of  little  spheres  of  transformed 
gelatine  after  the  addition  of  water,  remarks  as  follows  : 

4 'We  must  be  careful  in  drawing  conclusions  as  to  the 
wholesomeness  of  the  water  tried  ;  the  existence  of  spores  of 
transformed  gelatine  caused  by  organisms  is  no  proof  that  the 
water  is  unwholesome." 

Dr.  Frankland  has  also  tested  biological  methods,  and  in 
one  of  his  papers  he  states,  speaking  of  such  methods  : 

u  My  own  experiments  completely  conform  with  Mr. 
Heidi's  observations,  with  two  important  exceptions,  viz. : 
that,  firstly,  the  fungi  growths  are  not  peculiar  to  water 
contaminated  with  sewage  ;  and  secondly,  the  germs  from 
which  they  originate  are  present  in  all  water  which  has  been 
even  momentarily  in  contact  with  the  air." 

It  is  claimed  by  some  of  the  biological  experimenters  that 
if  a  solid  jelly,  to  which  a  little  of  the  water  has  been  added, 
becomes  fluid  in  a  short  time,  owing  to  the  development  of 
bacteria,  it  is  proof  positive  that  the  water  is  contaminated 
with  sewage,  and  that  it  is  unwholesome. 

I  have  applied  this  test  to  the  waters  from  Albany,  in 
comparison  with  Croton  water,  and  with  water  from  the 
Hackensack  and  the  Passaic.  In  all  cases  the  gelatine  be- 
came fluid  from  the  growth  of  organisms,  which  were  readily 
seen  under  the  microscope.  At  the  same  time  I  simply  ex- 
posed to  the  air  some  jelly  made  from  calves'  feet,  some  clear 


21 


bouillon  prepared  from  lean  beef,  and  slices  of  white  and 
Graham  bread. 

The  calves' -loot  jelly  soon  became  fluid,  the  beet'  bouillon 
became  turbid,  and  both  became  opaque  and  offensive.  Under 
the  microscope  both  were  found  to  contain  myriads  of  bac- 
teria, some  quiet,  some  in  active  motion.  The  slices  of  bread, 
which  were  covered  with  bell  jars  to  prevent  their  becoming 
dry,  were  soon  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  mycilium 
fungi  or  mould  plants,  white,  green  and  yellow. 

Now  if  the  organisms  in  the  gelatine,  to  which  the  samples 
of  water  were  added,  prove  the  water  to  have  been  contam- 
inated with  sewage,  what  can  be  said  of  the  air  of  Xew  York 
which  filled  the  calves' -foot  jelly  and  the  bouillon  with  simi- 
lar organisms,  or  covered  the  bread  with  the  mould  fungi  i 

Had  the  jelh^,  bouillon,  or  bread  been  exposed  to  the  air 
of  any  other  locality  in  the  United  States,  the  result  would 
not  have  been  different.  The  truth  is,  the  germs  of  micro- 
organisms occur  in  all  water  and  all  air,  and  all  that  is  neces- 
sary for  their  development  is  the  proper  soil,  that  is,  organic 
matter,  such  as  the  jelly  furnishes. 

We  have  daily  proof  of  this  in  the  spontaneous  fermen- 
tation of  the  juice  of  the  grape  in  wine  making,  the  transfor- 
mation of  cider  into  vinegar,  the  souring  of  beer  and  light 
wines,  of  milk,  of  food  generally,  the  ripening  of  cheese,  the 
decay  of  timber,  and  the  putrefaction  of  all  animal  and  vege- 
table matters.  All  these  processes  can  be  prevented  by  simply 
excluding  the  germs  which  are  contained  in  the  air,  as  is  done 
in  "canning"  food,  or  by  destroying  their  vitality  by  heat 
or  antiseptics.  When  the  biologist  learns  to  detect  in  water 
k<  the  specific  poisons  of  zymotic  diseases,"  and  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  harmless  organisms  that  we  eat,  drink,  and 
breathe  with  impunity  all  our  lives,  then  we  may  set  up 
biological  analysis  as  superior  to  chemical  analysis,  for  the 
selection  of  drinking  water. 

Up  to  the  present  time,  however,  biological  analysis  will 
not  tell  us  anything  with  regard  to  the  Hudson  Kiver  water 
that  we  do  not  already  know.  The  river  receives  a  small 
amount  of  drainage,  and  thanks  to  the  oxygen  and  the  micro- 
organisms, it  becomes  so  thoroughly  purified  that,  when  it 
reaches  the  Bleecker  reservoir  for  distribution  in  Albany,  it 
may  be  drank  without  danger  to  health. 


22 


Some  stress  has  been  laid  on  the  fact  that  nematoid  worms 
were  found  in  the  mud  taken  from  the  basin  near  the  mouth 
of  a  sewer.  While  it  is  not  claimed  that  these  worms  were 
found  in  the  water  of  the  river,  the  only  object  in  mentioning 
them  was  to  associate  them  in  some  way  with  the  water- 
supply.  I  would  simply  note  that  they  are  of  no  significance 
in  any  case,  as  nematoid  worms  are  found  in  all  fresh  water, 
especially  in  ponds  and  lakes.  They  are  also  found  in  sour 
paste,  and  in  vinegar,  and  are  well  known  to  microscopists  as 
paste  eels  and  vinegar  eels. 

Speaking  again  of  the  omnipresent  organisms  which  are 
harmless  to  man,  the  zymogenic  organisms  which  produce 
the  fermentations — alcoholic,  acid,  viscous,  etc. — and  the  sep- 
tic organisms  which  produce  putrefaction,  it  has  been  sug- 
gested that  under  certain  extraordinary  influences  they  may 
undergo  some  peculiar  change  by  which  they  may  develop 
into  pathogenic  organisms,  capable  of  producing  some  specific 
germ  and  its  zymotic  disease. 

This  has  actually  been  claimed  in  several  cases,  but  it  is 
clearly  settled  now  that  in  no  one  of  these  cases  was  there 
any  satisfactory  evidence  of  such  a  change.  The  pathogenic 
organisms  are  distinct  and  peculiar,  and  are  not  in  any  way 
developed  from  the  others. 


III. — ADVANCES  IN  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  ZYMOTIC 

DISEASES. 

Since  the  biologists  have  perfected  their  methods  for 
studying  micro-organisms  by  the  addition  of  new  methods  of 
staining,  culture,  and  inoculation,  the  most  wonderful  advance 
has  been  made  in  the  knowledge  of  zymotic  diseases.  The 
labors  of  Pasteur  in  investigating  the  diseases  of  silkworms, 
of  Davaine,  Koch,  and  Pasteur  in  investigating  splenic  fever, 
of  Pasteur  on  chicken  cholera,  of  Obermeyer  and  Carter  on 
relapsing  fever,  of  Pasteur  on  swine  plague,  of  Koch  on  tu- 
berculosis and  cholera,  and  of  these  and  other  observers  on 
many  other  diseases,  have  thrown  a  flood  of  light  on  the  eti- 
ology of  zymotic  diseases.  It  would  seem  as  if  a  few  years 
would  make  the  biologist  master  of  the  situation  ;  as  though 
this  class  of  diseases  may  perhaps  be  brought  entirely  under 


23 


the  control  of  the  physician,  by  a  kind  of  preventive  inocula- 
tion, as  is  now  the  case  with  smallpox. 

But  after  all,  this  advance  in  knowledge1  lias  not  as  yet 
thrown  any  light  on  the  question  we  have  before  us.  Is  the 
water  of  a  large  river,  which  has  received  a  certain  amount 
of  drainage,  a  safe  beverage  for  a  city  ?  Nothing  in  the  dis- 
coveries of  these  great  investigators  enables  us  to  say  thai 
this  water  is  unsafe.  It  is  believed  that  typhoid  fever  and 
diarrhoea!  diseases  have  often  been  disseminated  by  polluted 
wells,  but  no  cases  of  these  diseases  have  ever  been  traced  to 
the  waters  of  a  large  river. 

The  Cholera  Question. 

It  having  been  established  with  some  considerable  degree 
of  probability,  that  the  wells  in  certain  parts  of  London  had 
aided  in  disseminating  the  cholera  poison  during  the  succes- 
sive visitations  of  that  disease  to  the  metropolis,  an  opinion 
had  gained  credence  that  the  water  of  the  Thames  had  con- 
tributed in  no  small  measure  to  swell  the  awful  list  of  victims 
who  died  from  that  disease,  especially  the  water  supplied  by 
the  East  London  water-works.  Considerable  testimony  was 
therefore  taken  upon  this  point  by  the  Water  Commission, 
the  most  important  of  which  I  will  quote. 

Testimony  oe  Dr.  Robert  Axgus  Smith,  Government 

Inspector. 

u  If  the  germs  pass  into  the  rivers  we  do  not  know  how  far 
they  may  be  carried.  On  the  other  hand,  we  do  not  know 
that  they  ever  can  be  carried  in  pure  water,  the  dissolved 
oxygen  may  destroy  them,  as  it  unquestionably  does  putres- 
cent matters.  A  positive1  proof  of  their  transmission,  in 
otherwise  pure  water,  is  wanting.  One  might  ask  if  a  cholera 
germ  in  the  water  at  Oxford  would  produce  disease1  in  Lon- 
don, and  one  might  answer  by  asking  if  one  cholera  germ 
passing  into  the  air  at  Woolwich  would  produce  disease  in 
Pimlico.  This  we  do  not  know,  but  it  seems  probable  that 
disease  cannot  be  carried  far  by  pore  air,  nor  by  water  with 
much  oxygen  in  it,  which  is  equal  to  pore  air.  We  are  in- 
formed that  the  atmosphere  is  full  of  germs,  but  the  evidence 
seems  to  be  that  it  requires  an  unusual  excess  to  attack  as 
successfully,  ir  seems  to  be  a  question  of  quantity." 


24 


Testimony  of  Dr.  Letheby,  Medical  Officer  of  Health 
to  the  Corporation  of  London. 

Q.  "  You  are  aware  that  it  has  been  alleged  that  the  main 
cause  of  the  cholera,  in  the  east  end  of  London,  was  due  to 
he  water-supply;  do  you  entertain  that  opinion  ? "  A. 
"  No,  I  entertain  the  opposite  opinion;  it  was  a  matter  of 
duty  with  me  to  investigate  the  whole  of  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  East  London  supply  ;  in  the  first  place  it 
was  supplied  to  the  hospital  to  which  I  am  attached,  in  the 
next  place  it  was  supplied  to  the  eastern  division  of  the  city, 
where,  as  officer  of  health,  it  was  my  duty  to  look  well  into 
the  matter,  and  in  the  third  place  I  had  a  general  interest  in 
it  scientifically,  apart  from  any  official  connection  with  the 
subject,  and  I  was  very  desirous  to  ascertain  whether  or  not 
the  water  had  been  in  any  way  concerned  in  the  propagation 
of  the  disease  ;  I  therefore  investigated  it  very  fully." 

Q.  "  Do  you  think  the  present  supply  of  water  to  the  Lon- 
don people  is  wholesome  water  1 "  A.  "I  do,  a  thoroughly 
wholesome  water." 

In  his  report  on  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  city  of  Lon- 
don for  the  years  1866-67,  Dr.  Letheby  is  much  more  explicit 
in  his  discussion  of  the  cholera  epidemic  of  1866.  He  says, 
on  page  26  et  seq.  : 

"But  difficult  as  the  problem  is,  to  determine  the  exact 
value  of  the  several  circumstances  which  influence  the  severity 
of  the  disease,  and  especially  those  which  give  to  it  its  marked 
local  intensities,  enough  has  been  ascertained  to  indicate  its 
general  habits,  and  to  show  that  it  fixes  itself  at  low  levels  in 
proximity  to  tidal  rivers,  among  dense  populations,  that  are 
living  in  ill-constructed  houses,  that  are  filthy,  badty  venti- 
lated, badly  drained,  and  generally  defective  of  sanitary  pro- 
visions ;  and  the  inference  is,  that  the  actual  agent  of  cholera, 
be  it  what  it  may,  can  only  find  congenial  conditions  for  its 
full  development  in  damp  and  impure  air." 

"The  theoiy  of  Pettenkofer  is,  that  the  essential  conditions 
for  the  active  manifestations  of  the  disease,  are  a  porous  soil, 
charged  with  excrementitious  matter,  and  having  a  certain 
degree  of  hydration,  as  happens  when  the  subsoil  water  has 
been  just  drawn  off  or  is  slowly  retiring.  All  these  con- 
ditions were  singularly  coincident  with  the  localization  of 
the  disease  in  the  eastern  districts  of  London  ;  for  the  soil 
is  gravelly,  and  therefore  very  porous  to  air  and  water,  and 
it  is  largely  charged  with  excrementitious  matters  derived 
from  the  local  tide-locked  sewers.  It  is  also  remarkable  that 
for  some  months  before  the  outbreak  of  the  disease,  the 
subsoil  water  had  been  gradually  sinking  in  consequence  of 


the  drainage  operations  that  were  necessary  for  i li< •  construc- 
tion  of  the  main  low-level  sewer,  and  its  branch  to  the  Esle 
of  Dogs.  Now,  according  to  Pettenkofer,  it  is  exactly  under 
these  circumstances  that  a  district  is  most  Liable  t<>  choleraic 
infect  ion." 

"The  alleged  pollution  of  the  water  rests  upon  a  series  of 
assumptions,  many  of  which  are  in  the  highesl  degree  im- 
probable." 

"Apart,  however,  from  the  improbabilities  of  these  as- 
sumptions, it  is  a  fact  that  the  water  which  is  said  to  have 
been  thus  polluted  did  not  produce  its  effects  in  tlx-  several 
districts  to  which  it  was  distributed  in  anything  like  uni- 
formity of  time  or  force.  Suppose,  by  way  of  illustration, 
that  alcohol  or  arsenic  had  become  mixed  with  the  water, 
and  that  on  a  certain  day  it  was  distributed  to  the  public, 
we  should  expect  to  find  that  the  action  of  the  poison  was 
not  only  manifested  at  the  same  time  over  the  whole  district 
of  supply,  but  that  it  was  confined  to  that  district.  Not  so, 
however,  witli  the  water  in  question,  for  although  it  is  not 
alleged  to  have  been  more  than  once  polluted,  yet  the  first 
effects  in  the  several  districts  occurred  at  long  intervals  ;  and 
there  were  many  places  to  which  it  was  distributed,  where 
there  was  no  sign  of  the  disease  ;  while  others,  which  did  not 
receive  the  water,  were  seriously  affected." 

"More  remarkable  still,  there  were  places  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  cholera  field,  and  others  close  adjoining  it,  where 
the  residents  received  the  same  suspected  water,  and  used  it 
freely  without  suffering  in  the  least  degree.  In  the  Lime- 
house  School,  around  which  the  cholera  was  frightfully 
fatal,  there  were  400  children  who  drank  the  same  water  as 
their  neighbors,  and  yet  there  was  not  even  a  case  of  diar- 
rhoea among  them.  In  the  London  Hospital,  which  is  also  in 
the  heart  of  the  cholera  field,  for  it  is  surrounded  by  the 
districts  of  Whitechapel,  Bethnal  Green,  Mile  End,  Old 
Town,  and  St.  George' s-in-the-East,  there  was  an  average 
resident  population  of  403  persons,  and,  although  they  drank 
freely  of  the  unliltered  East  London  water,  yet  there  was  not 
a  case  of  illness  among  them/' 

"Again,  in  the  eastern  division  of  the  city  of  London, 
which  adjoins  the  cholera  field,  the  suspected  water  was 
supplied  to  101  houses,  with  a  population  of  about  1,732 
persons,  butexcept  in  oneof  these  nouses  (20  Somerset  St  reel  . 
which  is  on  the  boundary  of  Whitechapel,  there  was  nol  a 
single  death  from  cholera,  and  to  verily  this.  I  have  obtained 
the  addresses  of  all  the  persons  who  died  in  the  cholera  ward 
in  Bishopsgate  Street.  Bui,  besides  this,  the  disease  was 
singularly  fatal  in  places  where  the  Buspected  water  was  aever 
used.  In  Crown  Court.  Blue  Anchor  Yard,  Whitechapel, 
where  the  water-supply  is  from  the  New  River,  the  mortality 


26 


was  at  the  rate  of  284  per  10,000.  In  Boar's  Head  Yard,  of 
the  same  district,  which  is  also  supplied  by  the  New  River,  the 
death-rate  was  193  per  10,000  ;  and  indeed  there  are  eighteen 
courts  in  Whitechapel,  where  none  of  the  East  London  water 
was  used,  and  yet  out  of  an  aggregate  population  of  4,351 
persons,  there  were  30  deaths  from  cholera,  the  mortality 
being  at  the  rate  of  69  per  10,000  ;  that  of  the  whole  district 
being  but  77." 

"So  that,  on  carefully  examining  the  facts  in  their  rela- 
tion to  the  water  theory,  we  find  : 

1.  "  That  there  is  no  proof  whatever  of  choleraic  pollution 
of  the  water." 

2.  "  That  there  was  no  coincidence  of  time  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  disease  in  the  several  districts  supplied  with  the 
suspected  water." 

3.  "That  numerous  districts  receiving  the  same  water, 
but  situated  at  high  level,  or  placed  beyond  the  cholera  held, 
were  entirely  exempt  from  the  disease." 

4.  "That  even  in  the  very  heart  of  the  cholera  field, 
there  were  places  receiving  and  using  the  suspected  water 
with  impunity. 

5.  "That  other  places  not  supplied  with  the  water,  but 
situated  within  the  infected  area,  suffered  equally  with  the 
neighborhood." 

"I  am  far  from  wishing  it  to  be  thought  that  choleraic 
matter  diffused  through  water  will  not  produce  disease. 
There  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  it  is  often  a  prolific 
source  of  it  ;  but  I  am  anxious,  in  dealing  with  a  question  of 
so  much  public  importance  as  the  origin  of  the  late  epidemic, 
that  none  of  the  facts  should  be  perverted,  and  that  no  hasty 
or  ingenious  hypothesis,  without  solid  foundation,  should 
take  possession  of  the  public  mind.  In  the  conduct  of  in- 
quiries like  this,  there  should  be  a  calm,  a  full,  and  a  candid 
examination  of  the  facts  ; — we  should  endeavor  to  study  the 
phenomena  in  a  philosophical  spirit,  and  apply  to  them  the 
tests  of  sound  induction  ;  we  should  strive  also  to  deduce 
from  them  such  laws  as  will  not  only  expose  the  nature  of 
the  malady,  but  will,  at  the  same  time,  enable  us  to  treat  it 
successfully.  Rash  opinions,  boldly  asserted  and  tenaciously 
held,  though  they  may  force  themselves  on  public  attention, 
rarely  lead  to  useful  results  ;  and  while  they  have  their  hold 
on  the  popular  mind  they  seriously  hinder  the  progress  of 
real  knowledge." 

These  extracts  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  opinions  of  the 
most  eminent  medical  officers  who  have  considered  the  fitness 
of  the  waters  of  the  Thames  for  supplying  the  people  of  Lon- 
don with  wholesome  water. 


27 

The  verdict  of  the  commissioners,  after  can-fully  and  con- 
scientiously weighing  all  the  testimony  presented,  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  The  only  point  raised  against  the  Thames  water  on  the 
ground  of  organic  contamination  isof  less  positive  character  ; 
it  is  said  that  water  which  has  been  once  contaminated  with 
sewage,  may  still  contain  undecomposed  organic  matter, 
which,  though  inappreciable  by  the  most  delicate  chemical 
tests,  may  still  exercise  prejudicial  effects  on  the  human 
system." 

"  The  strongest  form  of  this  objection  has  reference  to 
some  opinions  now  prevalent,  that  certain  forms  of  disease, 
such  as  cholera  and  typhoid  fever,  are  propagated  by  germs 
contained  in  exereniental  matter;  and  it  is  conceived  possi- 
ble that  when  matter  of  this  kind  once  gets  into  streams, 
these  germs  may  escape  destruction  and  long  preserve  their 
dangerous  character.  It  is  said  that  no  process  is  known  by 
which  such  noxious  material  can  be  removed  from  water, 
and,  therefore,  it  is  argued,  that  water  which  has  at  any  time 
been  contaminated  by  sewage  is  henceforth  unsuitable  for 
domestic  use.  But  we  cannot  admit  them  as  sufficiently  well 
established  to  form  any  conclusive  argument  for  abandoning 
an  otherwise  unobjectionable  source  of  water-supply  ;  we  are 
of  opinion  that  there  is  no  evidence  to  lead  us  to  believe  that 
the  water  now  supplied  by  the  companies  is  not  generally 
good  and  wholesome." 

This  report  was  made  in  1869,  and  has  been  before  the 
British  public  in  an  accessible  form,  in  all  its  details,  sixteen 
years,  and  its  conclusions  have  been  generally  accepted. 

Cholera  ix  1884. 

A  fresh  opportunity  was  offered  last  year  for  studying  the 
propagation  and  dissemination  of  cholera.  Dr.  Koch  had 
succeeded  in  detecting  peculiar  comma  bacilli  in  the  intestines 
of  persons  who  had  died  of  cholera  in  Egypt  and  Calcutta  : 
and  he  has  satisfied  himself  that  these  bacilli  are  the  true 
originators  of  the  cholera.  As  he  has  been  the  most  successful 
investigator  of  pathogenic  bacteria,  his  opinion  carries  g]  -  a t 
weight.  Nevertheless,  there  are  man}-  who  are  not  yet  con- 
vinced. 

Dr.  Koch  noticed  "that  the  cholera  often  settles  in  a  par- 
ticular locality,  and  displays  its  greatest  virulence  in  certain 
quarters.    Such  epidemics  are  frequent ly  observed  in  thesur- 


2S 

roundings  of  the  so-called  '  tanks,'  which  are  small  ponds 
or  wells  enclosed  within  huts.  The  neighbors  obtain  their 
water-supply  from  these  tanks,  and  simultaneously  utilize 
them  for  various  purposes — such  as  bathing,  washing  cloth- 
ing, cleaning  domestic  utensils,  etc." 

In  one  of  these  tanks  Dr.  Koch  discovered  the  comma 
bacillus,  and  thus  found  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  trans- 
mission of  cholera  by  the  water-supply.  Not  of  a  large  river, 
to  be  sure,  but  by  a  "  tank."  A  very  animated  discussion  has 
arisen  from  these  observations,  and  the  cholera  in  the  South 
of  Europe  last  summer  has  furnished  much  material.  The 
outbreaks  in  Toulon,  Marseilles,  Italy,  Spain,  and  Paris  have 
been  very  carefully  studied,  and  thus  far  no  evidence  has 
been  secured  to  connect  the  spread  of  the  disease  with  the 
water-supply. 

One  writer  says  :  "  The  microbists'  theory  of  cholera 
propagation  rests  mainly  on  the  hypothesis  that  water  is  the 
agent  that  spreads  the  disease.  Now,  Paris  is  supplied  with 
water  from  four  different  sources,  and  the  cholera  broke  out 
almost  simultaneously  in  quarters  the  farthest  removed  from 
each  other,  and  furnished  with  totally  distinct  water-supplies. 
It  was  predicted  that  those  who  drank  the  Seine  water  would 
be  the  chief  sufferers,  owing  to  the  extent  to  which  it  is  con- 
taminated. The  prediction  has  not  been  verified.  The  most 
virulent  outbreak  was  in  the  charitable  institution  kept  by 
the  sceurs  liospitalieres,  where  over  sixty  inmates  died  in  a 
few  days.  This  home  is  supplied  with  the  water  of  the  Vanne 
— beyond  all  comparison  the  purest  that  is  brought  into 
Paris." 

P.  DeLuna  says  (in  the  Compt.  Bend.,  97,  633):  "  The  cause 
of  cholera  always  exists  in  the  air,  and  is  transmitted  by  per- 
sons and  things.  It  generally  acts  through  the  organs  of  res- 
piration, and  incubation  generally  takes  place  when  the  in- 
dividual is  in  a  passive  condition,  and  particularly  during 
sleep." 

M.  Gibert,  in  describing,  in  the  Mevue  Scientifique,  the 
outbreak  of  cholera  at  Yport,  near  Havre,  says  :  "  The  cholera 
was  brought  to  Yport  by  insufficiently  disinfected  clothing, 
soiled  by  cholera  dejecta ;  that  the  disease  was  propagated 
from  house  to  house  ;  and  that  the  question  of  water  has  no 
bearing  in  the  case,  for  the  very  good  reason  that  the  Ypor- 
tais  never  drink  any." 

In  a  long  article  on  "Cholera,"  which  runs  through  sev- 
eral numbers  of  the  London  Lancet  in  November.  1884,  Dr. 


29 


Max  von  Pettenkofer,  of  Munich,  (he  leading  sanitary  au- 
thority in  the  world,  makes  the  following  statement;  : 

"  The  further  one  investigates  the  drinking-water  theory 
the  more  and  more  Improbable  does  it  appear.  Robert 
Koch,  too,  the  famous  bacteriologist,  has  hitherto  failed  to 
substantiate  the  drinking-water  theory,  and  I  fee]  convinced 
that  the  time  is  not.  Par  distant  when  he  w  ill  own  thai  he  has 
gone  in  the  wrong  direction.  Koch  has  succeeded  in  finding 
the  comma  bacillus  in  a  water-tank  in  a  region  where  cholera 
was  prevalent.  I  have  the  greatest  respect  for  this  impor- 
tant discovery,  not  as  a  solution  of  the  cholera  question,  but 
only  as  a  very  promising  field  for  pathological,  not  epidemi- 
ological, inquiry.  It  must  be  remembered  that  cholera  was 
already  prevalent  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  water-tank  from 
which  Koch  obtained  the  bacillus.  Now,  this  tank  was  used 
not  only  for  drinking  purposes,  but  also  for  bat  hing  the  per- 
son and  washing  clothes,  as  Koch  himself  admits.  Accord- 
ing to  my  view  the  comma  bacillus  must  have  been  present  in 
the  water.  It  had  not  been  shown,  however,  that  the  bacillus 
was  in  the  water  before  the  outbreak  of  cholera.  Koch  is  of 
the  opinion  that  all  the  bacilli  in  the  water-tank  could  not 
have  come  from  the  washing  of  clothes  of  cholera  patients, 
but  must  have  partly  been  derived  from  multiplication,  yet 
he  forgets  that,  as  he  himself  has  shown,  the  meat-broth  in 
which  the  bacilli  grow  must  not  be  too  dilute.  It  would 
have  been  interesting  if  Koch  had  estimated  the  strength  of 
the  nutritive  material  in  the  water-tank.  But  what  chiefly 
contradicts  the  doctrines  of  the  contagionists  is  the  simultan- 
eous disappearance  of  the  cholera  on  land  and  the  cholera 
bacillus  in  the  water-tank,  if  it  were  really  true  that  every 
case  of  cholera,  the  first  as  well  as  the  last  in  an  epidemic,  had 
the  same  infective  material  in  its  intestinal  discharge,  and  that 
the  epidemic  only  ceased  because  the  susceptibility  of  man 
had  passed  away,  then  the  bacillus  would  continue  to  exist  in 
the  tank,  always  supposing  that  there  was  sufficient  pabulum 
for  it.  And  thus  it  is  most  probable  that  the  bacillus  gets 
into  the  tank  from  man,  and  not  vice  versa.  While  Koch 
was  in  Calcutta  the  English  physicians  there  imbued  him 
with  their  views  on  cholera  and  drinking-water.  The  English 
had  been  brought  up  on  the  drinking-water  theory  of  typhoid 
fever  and  cholera,  and  could  only  lay  it  aside  with  difficulty. 
But  a  few  of  those  English  physicians  who  had  studied  wide- 
spread epidemics  had  renounced  their  original  ideas.  Dr. 
Bryden  (the  chief  of  the  Statistical  Department),  Dr.  J,  M. 
Cuningham  (the  Sanitary  Commissioner),  Dr.  John  Mac- 
pherson  (the  Inspector-General  of  the  Bengal  Army.  Dr. 
Lewis,  and  Dr.  Douglas  Cunningham,  were  au  disbelievers  in 
the  drinking-water  theory.-' 


30 


I  quote  these  opinions  not  because  I  entertain  them  all 
myself,  but  to  show  that  the  best  authorities  do  not  sustain 
the  theories  or  the  fears  that  have  been  expressed  by  the  op- 
ponents of  the  river  water  at  Albany.  I  believe  that  wells 
and  small  streams  may  be  so  polluted  as  to  disseminate  dis- 
ease. 

IV.  THE  TEST  OF  EXPERIENCE. 

When,  in  1872,  I  first  had  occasion  to  consider  the  question 
of  employing  the  Hudson  River  water  at  the  city  of  Albany, 
I  was  limited  in  my  study  to  the  chemical  examination  of 
the  water  by  the  methods  then  in  use,  and  to  the  careful 
comparison  of  the  size  of  the  water-shed  of  the  Hudson  River 
and  the  populations  residing  thereon,  with  the  water-sheds 
and  population  of  other  large  rivers  used  successfully  as  a 
source  of  water  supply.  My  conclusion  in  favor  of  the  use 
of  the  water  at  that  time  was  arrived  at  with  a  full  appreci- 
ation of  the  great  responsibilities  of  the  decision. 

In  the  following  spring  I  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
Health  Department  of  the  largest  city  in  this  country,  and 
for  eleven  years  a  large  part  of  my  thought  and  study  was 
directed  to  sanitary  questions.  I  found  myself  compelled  to 
study  every  subject  bearing  upon  the  public  health,  and  I 
have  never  lost  sight  of  the  important  issues  involved  in  my 
decision  of  the  Albany  water  question.  I  have  from  time  to 
time  made  inquiries  with  regard  to  the  health  of  the  citizens 
who  were  using  the  water  of  the  Hudson  River,  and  it  has 
always  been  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to  me  to  learn  that 
the  health  of  the  people  of  Albany  continued  to  be  remark- 
ably good,  and  that  no  evidence  was  presented  to  indicate 
that  the  use  of  this  water  had  resulted  in  any  ill  effects,  and 
I  have  never  had  occasion  to  regret  the  advice  I  gave  at  that 
time.  The  diseases  which  have  been  attributed  to  polluted 
water  are  especially  typhoid  fever  and  diarrhoeal  diseases, 
with  which  the  city  of  Albany  has  been  less  afflicted  than 
most  other .  large  cities  in  this  country,  many  of  which  are 
supplied  with  water  of  the  highest  degree  of  purity.  I  am 
satisfied,  therefore,  that  the  test  of  experience  fails  to  present 
any  facts  which  would  indicate  that  the  Hudson  River  water 
is  unwholesome. 

The  following  Tables  XII  and  XIII  present  the  deaths 


from  these  diseases  in  Albany  and  the  towns  above,  and  also 
for  further  comparison,  New  York  ' 'it y,  Brooklyn,  inn!  Roch- 
ester. The  figures  were  obtained  from  tlx- hist  four  Bulletins 
of  the  New  York  State  Board  of  Health  -the  only  ones  to 
which  I  had  access.  As  the  city  of  Troy  receives  the  Hud- 
son River  water  from  above  Lansirigburg,  it  would  naturally 
be  inferred  that  if  the  water  becomes  polluted  through  its 
passage  past  the  city  of  Troy  there  would  be  an  increase  in 
the  death-rate  of  the  city  of  Albany  from  the  diseases  attrib- 
uted to  polluted  water.  It  will  be  observed  that  this  is  not 
the  case,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  returns  from  the  city  of 
Troy  indicate  a  much  larger  death-rate  from  these  diseases. 
It  may  be  said  that  these  returns  are  not  complete.  'Phis  is 
no  doubt  true.  A  note  at  the  foot  of  the  November  lhilltthi 
of  the  State  Board  of  Health  remarks  that,  "The  returns 
from  several  localities,  Troy  especially,  are  notably  incom- 
plete," and  a  note  to  the  December  Bulletin  says,  "  In  Troy 
the  actual  burials  for  November  were  found  on  investigation 
to  be  146,  but  43  having  been  reported  ;  the  December  returns 
show  improvement,  but  are  still  incomplete.  Returns  from 
Cohoes  are  utterly  unreliable  and  are  now  under  investiga- 
tion by  this  Board."  It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  the 
incompleteness  is  particularly  in  the  Troy  returns,  and  that 
if  the  full  death-rate  were  recorded  the  contrast  between 
Troy  and  Albany  would  be  much  more  striking,  the  Albany 
returns  beins;  considered  the  most  reliable  of  them  all. 

In  Table  XIII  the  death-rates  per  1,000  per  annum  are 
presented,  computed  from  the  numbers  contained  in  Table 
XII.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  the  fourth  column  the  typhoid 
fever  and  malarial  diseases  have  been  added  together.  This 
is  done  because  it  is  well  known  to  every  physician  who  has 
had  occasion  to  investigate  deaths  attributed  to  malaria,  that 
in  the  majority  of  cases  the  deaths  were  really  due  to  typhoid 
fever.  These  figures  clearly  show  that  there  is  nothing  in 
the  vital  statistics  of  Albany  to  indicate  that  any  evil  result 
has  ever  followed  the  introduction  of  river  water. 


32 


XII.  Deaths  from  Typhoid  Fever,  Malarial  and  Diarrheal 
Diseases,  for  the  last  Four  Months  of  1SS4. 

Extracted  from  the  Monthly  Bulletins  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  New  York. 

ALBANY — Population  97,344. 


Deaths. 

Rate 
per  1,000. 

Typhoid. 

Malarial. 

Diarrhceal 

153 

IS.  86 

I 

23 

148 

18.25 

8 

141 

17.:i9 

5 

g 

4 

140 

18.00 

1 

1 

3 

588 

18.12 

17 

3 

38 

TROY -Population  60,000. 

130 

26.00 

7 

0 

25 

70 

14.00 

4 

1 

4 

43 

8.6(1 

3 

1 

1 

81 

16.20 

1 

o 

1 

324 

16.45 

15 

2 

31 

WEST  TROY — Population  13,000. 

i? 

24.00 

3 

0 

5 

15.69 

2 

0 

3 

20 

18.46 

0 

0 

0 

26 

24.00 

2 

0 

1 

89 

20.54 

i  7 

0 

9 

LANSINGBURG— Population  8,500. 


22 

31.00 

0 

0  ! 

2 

27 

38.11 

0 

0 

0 

21 

29.64 

0 

0 

0 

25 

35.30 

0 

0 

0 

95 

33.74 

0 

0 

2 

COHOES— Population  20,000. 


 1  15 

9.00 

1 

0 

4.20 

0 

1 

0 

  12 

7.20 

0 

0 

1 

12.60 

1 

0 

0 

 1       55  ! 

8.25" 

 2  

1 

4 

GREEN  ISLAND — Population  5.000. 


12.00 

,  0  v 

I   ~  0 

  6 

14.50 

0 

0 

o 

  6 

14.50 

0 

0 

0 

  !  7 

16.80 

1 

0 

1 

~  14.37" 

2 

0 

1 

NEW  YOIIK  CITY— Population  1,356,958. 

26.45 

62 

34 

1  540 

22.48 

(i6 

57 

301 

 !  2.S07 

24.82 

54 

39 

!  95 

 i  MW 

26.42 

35 

23 

45 

Four  months  . . 

25.04 

~217~ 

153 

~l  981 

BROOKLYN— Population  644,526. 


1.369  1 

25.49 

19 

33 

339 

October  

1.1  si  1 

21.99 

19 

41 

149 

1,066 

19.  S3 

13 

32 

31 

1.253  1 

23.33 

8 

29 

14 

4,869  l 

22.66 

59 

135 

533 

ROCHESTER 

— Population 

101,000. 

181  | 

21.50 

4 

0 

42 

146 

17.35 

7 

0 

IS 

135 

16.04 

9 

2 

1 

137 

16.27 

9 

0 

3 

599  1 

17.79 

29 

2 

64 

XIII.  Death-rates  per  1,000  per  Anntm  foi:  the  last 
Months  of  1SS4. 

Computed  from  the  Bala  Contained  in  Table  Xlf. 


DUB 


Albany   

Troy  

West  Troy  . . 
Lansin-jburg, 

Cohoes  

Green  Island 
New  York  . . , 
Brooklyn 
Rochester 


Deaths         _  ... 
from    all  I 
causes. 


IS.  12 
10.45 
20.54 
33.74 
8.25 
14.37 
25.04 
22.0(1 
17.79 


fever. 


0.525 
0.750 
1.620 


0.300 
1.200 
0.480 
0.270 
0.861 


Malarial 
diseases. 


0.090 
0.TXM) 


0.150 

6.339 
0.630 
0.060 


Typhoid  fc- 
rec  and  innla- 
rial  diseases. 


0.f,15 
0.849 
1.620 

0.450 
1.200 
0.819 
0.900 
('.921 


Dlai  rhoM 
discaM  -. 


1.173 
1  548 

2.070 
0.788 
0.000 
o.oou 
9.169 
v.  I- l 
1.899 


CONCLUSION. 

After  applying  every  possible  method  of  investigation  to 
the  Hudson  River  water,  I  am  free  to  say  that  I  find  no  evi- 
dence to  lead  me  to  change  the  opinion  I  expressed  in  1872. 
There  is  no  reason  why  the  city  of  Albany  should  not  con- 
tinue to  use  this  water. 

Except  at  Troy,  no  sewerage  of  any  consequence  is  dis- 
charged into  the  river;  and  even  here,  the  volume  of  sewer- 
age is  so  small  in  comparison  with  that  of  the  river,  that  it 
does  not  make  any  impression  upon  it. 

The  average  volume  of  the  Hudson  at  Albany  was  es- 
timated by  Mr.  Sweet  to  be  618,111  cubic  feet  per  minute, 
equal  to  an  average  daily  flow  of  6,677,000,000  gallons.  The 
minimum  being  1,829,000,000  in  July,  and  the  maximum 
12,330,000,000  in  March. 

In  1883,  the  engines  pumped  an  average  of  6,064,000  gal- 
lons daily,  or  yyVg-  of  the  average  flow  of  the  stream. 

I  must  not  omit  to  call  attention  to  the  unusual  combina- 
tion of  circumstances  by  which  the  most  complete  aeration 
of  the  water  is  effected.  Glens  Falls,  the  falls  of  the  Mohawk 
at  Cohoes,  and  the  State  Dam  at  Troy,  are  the  most  effective 
means  contrived  by  nature  and  art  for  preparing  the  water 
for  the  use  of  your  citizens. 

1.  Chemical  analysis  shows  that  the  water  compares 
favorably  with  that  of  other  cities  in  thi^  country  ami  Ku- 
rope. 

3 


34: 


2.  Biological  analysis  reveals  nothing  in  the  water  that 
has  ever  been  known  to  produce  sickness. 

3.  Culture  experiments  have  failed  to  connect  in  any  way 
the  omnipresent  organisms  which  are  found  in  all  waters 
with  any  diseases,  or  to  make  it  probable  that  they  are  likely 
to  produce  any  evil  effects.  The  experience  gained  during 
the  recent  outbreaks  of  cholera  in  the  East  and  in  Europe 
have  added  nothing  to  the  knowledge  of  this  disease  that 
makes  it  probable  that,  in  case  we  have  an  invasion  of  it  next 
summer,  the  river  water  would  be  likely  to  aid  in  introdu- 
cing it  into  your  city. 

4.  Experience  in  using  the  water  for  the  past  ten  years 
has  demonstrated  its  freedom  from  objectionable  constitu- 
ents. There  have  been  no  epidemics  during  that  time,  and 
the  city  has  been  less  afflicted  with  the  diseases  which  are 
generally  supposed  to  spring  from  polluted  water,  than  Troy 
and  other  towns,  that  take  the  water  above  that  city  ;  or 
than  New  York  or  Brooklyn,  which  are  supplied  with  unusu- 
ally pure  water. 

5.  With  regard  to  the  pollution  of  the  water-supply  by  the 
action  of  the  tide  on  the  water  which  flows  out  of  the  Basin, 
I  can  only  say  that  if  anything  is  added  to  the  water  from 
this  source  it  must  be  extremely  small  in  quantity.  Several 
of  my  samples  were  taken  from  the  river  at  the  inlet,  half  at 
low  tide  and  half  at  high  tide,  and  several  were  taken  from 
Bleecker  reservoir.  None  of  these  samples  show  the  presence 
of  such  contamination,  and  they  could  not  have  failed  to  do 
so,  had  there  been  any  to  show.  Although  there  is  no  ap- 
preciable contamination  from  this  source,  I  would  nevertheless 
stronghv  urge  the  adoption  of  the  recommendation  of  the 
Committee  on  Drainage  and  Topography  of  the  State  Board 
of  Health  with  regard  to  cleaning  out  the  Basin  or  filling  it, 
and  also  the  construction  of  an  intercepting  sewer. 

6.  I  would  also  advise  that  steps  be  taken  to  protect  Tivoli 
Lake  from  drainage  waters,  which  now  find  their  way  into  it 
to  some  extent. 

7.  I  would  further  say  that  I  consider  the  water  of  the  river 
so  free  from  any  objectionable  contamination,  that  the  whole 
question  seems  to  me  to  be  one  of  practical  economy  for  the 
taxpayers.  If  there  were  an  equally  available  supply  of  water 
from  a  source  against  which  no  one,  however  biased,  could  sug- 


35 


gest  a  suspicion  (I  know  of  no  city  that  lias  a  supply  oi  water 
which  does  not  at  times  arouse  the  alarmists),  then  I  would 
say,  as  a  matter  of  sentiment,  to  silence  if  possible  all  com- 
plaints and  arguments,  abandon  the  river.  But  it  would  be 
very  foolish  to  abandon  a  never-failing  supply  of  wholesome 
water,  which  can  be  had  by  simply  pumping,  to  go  to  large 
expense,  simply  as  a  matter  of  sentiment,  to  prevent  a  few 
persons  from  saying  disagreeable  things  about  the  quality  oi 
the  water.  Besides,  if  water  were  brought  from  some  lak<  . 
a  new  class  of  troubles  would  result.  Lakes  are  very  liable 
to  be  invaded,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  by  abundant 
growths  of  vegetable  or  animal  matter,  which  communicate 
color,  taste,  and  odor  to  the  water  which  are  very  offensive. 
Almost  every  city  in  the  country  that  is  supplied  by  lake 
water  has  experienced  this  difficulty. 

In  studying  this  subject  (to  use  the  language  of  Dr.  Leth- 
eby,  already  quoted),  I  have  been  " anxious,  in  dealing  with 
a  question  of  so  much  public  importance,  that  none  of  the 
facts  should  be  perverted,  and  that  no  hasty  or  ingenious 
hypothesis,  without  solid  foundation,  should  take  possession 
of  the  public  mind.  In  the  conduct  of  inquiries  like  fchis, 
there  should  be  a  calm,  a  full,  and  a  candid  examination  of 
the  facts  ; — we  should  endeavor  to  study  the  phenomena  in  a 
philosophical  spirit,  and  apply  to  them  the  tests  of  sound 
induction.  Hash  opinions,  boldly  asserted  and  tenaciously 
held,  though  they  may  force  themselves  on  public  attention, 
rarely  lead  to  useful  results  ;  and  while  they  have  their  hold 
on  the  popular  mind  they  seriously  hinder  the  progress  of 
real  knowledge." 

Very  respectfully  youi*6, 

C.  F.  CHANDLER. 


lEx  ICtbrtB 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


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Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
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